California street gang accused of arranging fake marriages for green cards, drug trafficking

Calif. gang accused in sham marriage scam

LOS ANGELES — Authorities have arrested 18 people in a probe into a Southern California street gang accused of drug trafficking and arranging fake marriages to obtain green cards for immigrants.

The U.S. attorney’s office on Wednesday unveiled a federal indictment saying members of the Red Door gang orchestrated a scheme where foreigners paid tens of thousands of dollars to marry American women to gain permanent resident status.

The indictment cited three such marriages, but U.S. attorney spokesmen Thom Mrozek says prosecutors believe there are hundreds of others.

Prosecutors say authorities also seized more than 12,500 ecstasy pills and 2,200 marijuana plants during the probe.

All but two of the indictment’s 20 defendants were arrested Wednesday.